Destiny's Princess: A War Story, A Love Story tells the tale of Princess [insert your name here], her wish to resurrect her dead family, and her struggles. I've put up a summary of the game as the store page doesn't have very good details, plus my general review. Spoiler-Free. Scroll to the end for my brief summary.
❤Characters:
Because the store doesn't give an accurate preview of the characters of the game, I'll break it down here. All except yourself are datable, of course;
- You: You're the Princess of an unnamed castle on the border of Kyogoku. You have tomboyish tendencies like enjoying climbing trees and archery and tend to speak your mind if necessary.
- Yukimura Sanada: Your energetic, quick-to-act twin-brother who acts as temporary commander in the events of the game. He's kind of childish and teases you a lot, but it's in good health.
- Hanbei Tanaka: Your coldhearted fiance. The game describes him as "cool and calm", and while that may be true, he's a genuine dick for the majority of his route. He's a mix between your standard stoic character and your standard sadistic creep.
- Masamune Date: The leading general of the castle who, while quiet, is still playful and induldges you in your tomboyish acts.
- Kotaro Fuma: The game describes him as aloof, but Kotaro is really fun to be around and acts as both a comedic and intriguing character.
- Nobunaga Oda: Your dad. Your rude, gross dad. Not enough can be said about him that won't get censored by steam.
❤Plot:
The game opens up with you, Princess [insert your name here], on more or less your final day. Demons have invaded your castle, and both those you have loved and those you don't know have died; handsmaids, vassals, your father, so on. You, too, are about to meet your untimely demise, when suddenly, you discover your precious family heirloom— a blade with a demon trapped inside that can grant any wish. You quickly wish upon the dagger as you're close to breathing your last breath— a vague wish that you "want to be saved".
People from "other worlds" are then brought in and replace the people important to you who have died that night. They replace the memories you have of their actual counterparts, which leaves you feeling mixed. The game then branches from this night, and you're free to choose which character you'd like to date, later discovering the various consequences of your wish.
❤Gameplay:
The game plays like a standard VN with your occasional choice thrown in here and there. Depending on your choice, your affinity with the character you're romancing will rise. You'll be able to see more of their story after the final branching choice if you've crossed the ~55% affinity threshold.
Each character has 8 chapters, which then split into two endings based on your choice in chapter 8 (the game will inform you that they will decide your ending). After you beat one ending, you'll also unlock a Sequel and a Date Scenario, which are nice in their own right, especially if you like a certain character.
The main story itself isn't as intriguing as the store page makes it out to be, and it kind of gets rammed in your head enough that you can figure it out on its own. Most plot twists (and there's none, I'm just saying that in hyperbole) are easily realized by yourself after you've completed one route. However, the stories of each character are unique and entertaining enough, and that's the important part.
There are plenty of CGs in each route. The sprites of the characters are expressive and pretty as well— perhaps my only issue is that Kotaro definitely doesn't look like a ninja with the hairstyle he sports, but maybe that's me. The music is also fairly decent for a dating sim.
I personally recommend playing in the order given to you on the character choosing screen from right to left; starting with Yukimura and ending with Nobunaga (though go down to read my vague warning about that). Kotaro and Masamune have the best routes, if you're the type of person to save best for last.
❤My Review:
Destiny's Princess: A War Story, A Love Story is a game I both enjoyed yet also disliked to a degree. As stated before, I was really into Kotaro and Masamune's routes, but felt mildly put off by Yukimura's route (the brother thing gets kinda weird), disappointed by Hanbei's route (he's pretty cruel), but, most importantly, absolutely disgusted by Nobunaga's route. I said this was a spoiler-free review, and it will be, so I won't ellaborate on the things he did throughout his story, but I completed it feeling... gross.
The dissatisfaction I felt with him has mainly to do with cheap shock tactics and a strong lack of morality and taste, not to mention weird characterization. The game says to play Nobunaga's route last as it contains spoilers, but honestly, it's gross, and the plot is beat into your head so much after 4 previous routes that you can just stop at Kotaro because you stop caring (as consequences are kind of nothing in this game, so you end up going "meh, whatevs" a lot).
Trust me, you'll want to stop at Kotaro. I had so much fun with his whole route that I wanted to replay it again.
As it stands at full price, I would not pay 16 dollars for this game. I bought this game for 5 dollars on the summer sale and I feel like that's probably more reasonable. 8 dollars is a good ground for it, honestly.
❤tl;dr:
Would I recommend you play this game? Yes.
Would I recommend you play all of this game? No, because some of it is in bad taste, specifically Nobunaga's route, but I won't stop you.
Does this game offer a lot of content? Yes. Around an hour's worth of story for five characters plus two bonus stories for completing 1/2 endings.
Is this game hard? Just savescum and you'll be fine, but most correct choices are blatantly obvious.
Should I buy this game at full price? ...........Wait until a sale hits.
I rate this game a 7/10.
Hope I helped! ❤ lone
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